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byNatashalhonMarch 25, 2013

Hi, I’m Natasha. Welcome to The Artisan Life!

So what is “The Artisan Life,” anyway? In short, pursuing The Artisan Life means living a creative life inspired by the natural world and rhythm of the seasons. I dream of a simpler life filled with handmade items built to last, family meals around the table, and fewer electronic interruptions. This blog is where I combine my passions for crafting and the natural world to bring you tutorials, DIYs, and tips to help you create a more naturally-inspired life in our fast-paced modern world. Virtually all of the projects shared on The Artisan Life are either inspired by the natural world or use natural/upcycled materials. If this ethos sounds like you, too, you’ve come to the right place!

I have always loved the outdoors and have felt most alive while walking in the forest or digging in the garden. To me, these simple activities connect us to the past and future – they help us realize what it means to be human and what it means to be alive. They also help keep us humble – it is impossible to look out to sea or gaze up at the stars and not feel humbled by their amazing expanse.

Although I’ve always loved crafting and the natural world, I wasn’t always bold enough to show my creative side to the entire world. In 2015, my dad passed very suddenly and unexpectedly. I never thought I’d loose a parent while I was still in my 20s, and the experience has affected me greatly by showing me how we never truly know how much time any of us has left. It served as a reminder to “live out loud,” pursue each day with passion, and reinforced my commitment to a healthy, active lifestyle. I strongly believe in the healing power of creativity and activity.

For a while during and after college, I allowed myself to be mislead by people who told me being “me” was weird, that making things was weird, that reading instead of watching TV was weird. I didn’t create much and tried to be “normal,” and it made me miserable. At 24 I somehow felt old and like I’d already missed out in life. Even though I’d graduated summa cum laude from the honor’s college at my school, I found myself working an unfulfilling minimum wage job until one day my boss and his friend sexually assaulted me. (No, don’t panic – it wasn’t anything ‘major,’ but it was certainly highly inappropriate.) It was a real wake up call. Instead of showing up for my next shift, I handed over a letter explaining I couldn’t work there anymore with a self-addressed stamped envelope for my final paycheck. The next week, I found a new, better paying job in a field I loved, signed up for dance and aerial hoop classes, and, in retrospect, got back on my path to creativity. I met a man who supported and encouraged my creativity, followed him to Hawaii, and got married beside the Pacific Ocean.

Today I’m devoted to sharing my love of the natural world and crafting with others through this blog, The Artisan Life. I love creating crafting tutorials inspired by/using materials from the environment around me, tips, and inspiration to help you live a creative, fulfilling life.

If parts of my story sound familiar to you, I invite you to join me here at The Artisan Life.

Whether you’re working on rediscovering your creativity or developing it for the first time, trying to stay true to yourself in a world full of distractions, or just want something both tasty and healthy to put on the table, I hope you enjoy your stay on the blog and come back soon. Comments from people ‘on the same mission’ are worth far more to me than any paycheck I’ve earned!

I also invite you to join my weekly email list. On Fridays I send out an email with a photo and snippet from the prior week’s posts, which helps you keep up to date on the latest freebies, tutorials, and recipes. Best of all, just by singing up you gain access to high resolution 8×10 “Motivational Monday” printables that I create nearly every week! To sign up, just use the box on the top right of the page.

I absolutely love sharing knowledge and connecting with others who are on the same journey – I really hope you decide to join me and create the life of your dreams!

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Hi, I’m Natasha!

Nature has always called to me - I love the smell of fresh dirt in my hands, the feel of salt air on my skin, and the sound of newly fallen leaves under foot.

I also love creating and dream of a simpler life filled with handmade items built to last, family meals around the table, and fewer electronic interruptions. The Artisan Life is where I combine my passions for crafting and the natural world to bring you tutorials, DIYs, and tips to help you create a more naturally-inspired life in our fast-paced modern world.

The Artisan Life uses affiliate links including, but not limited to, Amazon affiliate links. When you make a purchase using an affiliate link, The Artisan Life receives a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you so much for your support and making what I do possible! For a full look at my privacy policy, please visit its page here.